Oh dear friends of Slowtrain. There is so much to say right now. First, some exciting news. For those who don't know - or haven't seen me waddling around town - Chris and I are expecting our first child come November. We're thrilled to be parents and to enter this new chapter in our life. Right now we are all healthy and feeling good, if not just a little tired and anxious. We're making plans and preparations to soon welcome our little baby girl into the world.

But with this big and exciting news comes a life-changing decision for us that will affect most of you. With the expansion of our own family we no longer feel that we are able to own, operate, run, and manage Slowtrain. For the last few months we have been working with a buyer to try and sell the store, but we just received news that this sale is no longer possible. This hasn't left us with much time to find an alternative solution given that our baby is coming in November and we are now half-way through September.

With a lack of time and lack of leads we are now turning to you, our customers and loyal friends that have supported us over the last five years. We'd like to give you all the opportunity to purchase Slowtrain and carry on our family business if you think it would suit your life and financial situation. Speaking frankly, the store is probably not going to make you rich. If an owner were to run the shop full-time with some part-time help it could pay a modest salary. One would certainly hope to see increases in that salary as the economy improves, and well, some months are understandably better than others. And perhaps you are more savvy than us and can increase sales, cut expenses, and run a better business that makes you more money. There are also incredible perks: free and discounted music, free and discounted concerts, new friends, and opportunities to meet and get to know some of the most incredible musicians around.All in all it is a terribly fun job that requires hard work and a lot of love, but working for yourself is incredibly rewarding and the perks are hard to beat.

This is not a business for just anyone, but if you think you may be interested then start checking out your finances and get in touch with us ASAP once you think you can move forward. Our asking price is $75,000 and that includes the whole shebang: inventory, furnishings, equipment, supplies, sponsorships/relationships, coalition memberships, the name and reputation, distributor connections, mailing lists, social marketing, logo/branding, websites, record label, and more.

We understand that in this market we may not be able to find a suitable buyer in our timeframe, in which case we want to give you, our great customers, advance warning that we'll plan on liquidating and closing up shop by the end of the year. We'll keep you all posted here in these emails as we make progress on a sale or if we will begin to mark everything down for final sales. Though for now it will be business as usual...we'll still have new releases and special orders and if we get a buyer we'll make that transition as seamless as possible.

In the meantime we personally thank you for the love and friendship you have shown us over the last five years. Letting go of the shop isn't an easy decision to make, regardless if we sell it or close up, but we do feel this is an essential step for us to move forward into the next chapter of our life.

Until we have a buyer or decide officially to begin liquidation it will be business as usual. We will still be bringing in new releases on CD and LP until you hear otherwise from us here. Please understand that this is NOT just another record store closing down because of downloading or chain stores. Yes, both downloads and chain stores affect our business and make it hard to keep the doors open - but we still have the doors open and we still pay the bills. We're certain that the store could continue to stay open, we're just also certain that we're no longer the people to do this. Who knows, maybe you are...

Thanks again and much love...

xo,

Anna

NEW THIS WEEK

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost CD/LP+7"

More spontaneous and stripped-down than either their self-made debut or their lush EP, Father, Son, Holy Ghost is a gorgeous, largely minor-key record, enlivened by flashes of innocent pop and given depth by its wealth of influences and willingness to face sadness.Available on CD and on black and white vinyl with bonus flexi disc.